Teen surfers taking on the world

TWO teen surfers are carrying the torch for the next generation of champion Tweed boardriders after going head to head for a major junior title last week.

Tweed’s own Kobie Enright and Alyssa Lock, ranked 13th and 29th respectively in surfing’s World Qualifying Series rankings, took the first and second overall placings at last week’s Avoca Beach leg of the Subway Pro Junior Surf Series.

After making it through to the quarter finals of the Tweed Coast Pro the previous week, Enright continued her form by edging Lock (14.10 - 9.90) in the final to claim her first Pro Junior win of the 2016 series.

“It feels like a free surf and she pushes me to try harder and try more things,” Enright said of Lock.

“It was a really fun final and we go out there and don’t say much, but when we get back in we’re friends again.”

The pair have surfed with each other at Snapper Rocks Boardriders since they could walk and the Avoca final was just one in a long line the pair have contested over the years, despite their youth.

“We’ve grown up together since we were little and have hung out and surfed for as long as I can remember,” Lock said.

“It’s awesome surfing with her, it’s just like being home in club rounds and it takes the pressure off, but we both try our best.”

The two are regulars on breaks, such as Snapper, Cabarita and D-Bah, and are regularly out surfing together outside of competition.

They feel their home breaks are the best in the world, providing them with an added advantage over opponents.

“It gives you a good variety of waves which helps as it gives you access to all conditions for competitions,” Lock said.

Lock, 15, is a Roxy team surfer and burst onto the scene as a 12-year-old, when she became the youngest ever surfer to compete in a professional competition when she participated in the 2013 Roxy Pro at Snapper Rocks.

By the age of eight, she was winning Under-14s competitions and by 11, had won a state title and was the National Rip Curl Grom Search Ratings Champion.

Rip Curl team surfer Enright, 16, was also a child prodigy, crowned the 2012 Under-14 Girls Australian Junior Surfing champion and the 2013 Rip Curl Grom Search Series champion.

With those already impressive array of accolades, the teens are on their way to carrying forward the legacy of Tweed surfing legends.

Name surfers such as the late Michael Peterson, Peter Townend, three-time world champion Mick Fanning, former world champ Joel Parkinson, Dean Morrison and six-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore have led the way before them.

The current stars treat the pair like family, making them the envy of other surfers that would love having those kinds of friends at their home breaks.

While Lock and Enright want to create their own legacies, the honour and benefits aren’t lost on the pair.

“We’re pretty close with those guys, we see them surf so much and they’re still our idols and we still look up to them,” Enright said.

Lock, who lists Gilmore as her idol, said sometimes she has to pinch herself when in the company of the stars.

“I always see them out there and I try to keep it all in although I’m starstruck,” she said.

“But they’re so approachable and inspiring.”

Enright and Lock competed in the Kommunity Project Great lakes Pro at Boomerang Beach through the week, with Enright making it through to the semi-finals.

Results are piling up, but the pair are content to continue being kids while they can before making an assault on the Championship Tour (CT).

“I’m going to do as well as I can in Pro Juniors and finish Year 12, and before then try as hard as I can next year to make the CT,” Enright said.

“I want to prep for next year and learn about all the comps and get my strength up and ranking higher,” Lock added.

“Then I want to make it onto the CT and once I’ve achieved that goal, the next goal will be world champion.”

The Subway Pro Junior Surf Series’ next stop is in March at Phillip Island.